The present invention relates to a device for applying a stretchable material to an item. More particularly, the present invention concerns a stretch film label applicator configured to separate a stretchable film sleeve label from a web of labels and apply it to a container, such as a bottle. The applicator of the present invention is particularly suitable for application of high stretch films used to apply labels to highly contoured containers.
The prior art has developed numerous methods to label product containers, such as bottles. For example, the earliest and simplest such methods involved printing information directly onto the container. Later methods included printing the information on a label which then was adhered to the container. However, it more recently has become commonplace to label bottles with stretchable sleeves without the use of adhesives. In particular, such sleeves often are used for beverage bottles and the like.
Advances in product container materials, design and manufacturing techniques over the years have led to the development of complex container designs, such as highly contoured bottles. However, traditional prior art stretch films may be unsuitable for application to such complex designs because such minimally stretch films, which exhibit about 0 to 10% stretch, may not offer sufficient elasticity to permit the film to closely follow the profile of the container. Thus, high stretch films, exhibiting about 0-40% stretch, recently have been developed for use on highly contoured containers.
Devices and methods for automatically placing stretch sleeves on containers are well known in the prior art. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,566,527 to Drewitz discloses an apparatus for applying a heat-shrinkable band to the neck or body of a container. The apparatus comprises a feeding assembly for advancing a continuous sleeve of heat-shrinkable polymeric material along a predetermined path in order to slip the sleeve over the cap or body of the container, and a cutting assembly to cut the sleeve. The cutting assembly uses a rotatable, extendable blade to slit the sleeve circumferentially after it is mounted on the container.
While this device may be appropriate for heat-shrinkable materials, it is not appropriate for stretch film label applications since there is no stretching mechanism and since the cutting assembly is designed to cut heat-shrinkable sleeves. The device is not optimized for cutting high stretch film sleeve materials, which exhibit significantly greater elasticity as compared to traditional, minimally stretch films.
In another such device, disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,483,783 and 5,433,057 to Lerner et al., a high speed sleever uses a vacuum to secure a sleeve as the sleeve is being cut from a continuous sleeve roll or web. The sleever then uses pins to stretch the sleeve for positioning around a container. The pins use an outflow of gas to lubricate the space between the sleeve and the outside of the container as the sleeve and container are engaged with one another. The device also uses mechanical sleeve positioning grippers to frictionally hold the sleeve against the pins during application to the container. Individual sleeves are separated from a web at perforations or frangible regions as the sleeves are pulled from the web. However, this device is not particularly useful for the application of high stretch film sleeve materials to complex container designs, and the mechanical grippers rely solely on frictional engagement with the sleeve and, therefore, may not offer consistent sleeve placement on the container.
Additional devices are taught by U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,543,514 and 6,263,940 to Menayan. These devices also use pins to stretch a sleeve. However, the pins are solid, and, accordingly, no vacuum or air is used to facilitate sleeve engagement with or disengagement from the pins. Furthermore, in this device the container remains stationary while the stretched sleeve is moved over the container, rather than moving the container into the stretched sleeve. Again, such devices are not designed to apply high stretch film sleeve materials to highly contoured containers, and do not contain sufficient means to provide consistent sleeve placement on the containers.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,715,651 to Thebault utilizes two semi-circular collar sections on which the sleeves are positioned, rather than a set of pins, for stretching the sleeve. The collar sections include suction surfaces for engaging the outer surface of the sleeve while it is being stretched. However, such suction surfaces may be insufficient for adequately stretching high stretch film sleeve materials about a complex container design.
While some of the prior art devices discussed above may perform adequately to apply traditional minimally stretch films (about 0 to 10% stretch) to containers having relatively simple geometric designs, such devices are not well suited for application of high stretch films (about 0-40% stretch) to modem containers having complex geometric designs and significant contours.
Accordingly, there exists a need for a stretch film label applicator configured to apply a stretchable film sleeve label to a container, such as a bottle. Desirably, the applicator is suitable for application of high stretch sleeve film labels to highly contoured containers. More desirably, the applicator is configured to apply such labels in a reliable, consistent manner and to ensure proper positioning of the label on the container. More desirably yet, the applicator is adaptable to easily integrate within a container filling and packaging line. Most desirably, the applicator is configurable to apply both continuous sleeve labels as well as perforated labels.